Giorgio Mammoliti violated campaign rules, audit finds

Toronto Coun. Giorgio Mammolitti exceeded campaign spending limits in the 2010 municipal election, according to a forensic audit.

The audit released Friday found that the outspoken councillor for Ward7 (York West) overspent the campaign's legal limit by $12,065 in an "apparent contravention" of the Municipal Elections Act.

The firm that conducted the probe, Froese Forensic Partners, was called in after retired teacher David DePoe filed a complaint about Mammoliti's campaign finances.

The auditors accepted Mammoliti's arguments thatan initialrun for mayor that year that was later abandoned for a campaign for the councilseat in ward seven may have causedsome of the campaign's"accounting issues."

Candidates who violate campaign spending limits under the Municipal Elections act may be fined, or even removed from office.